Rotons in an optical centrifuge

Rotons in an optical centrifuge

Optical centrifuge offers ways to control rotons – collective quantum excitations in superfluid helium.

He dimers in superfluid helium

He dimers in superfluid helium

Initiating rotational dynamics of metastable helium dimers in bulk He-II allows to study rotational decoherence as a function of liquid temperature.

Roton pairs in superfluid helium

Roton pairs in superfluid helium

Femtosecond pulses excite roton pairs in superfluid helium, and allow to track their ultrafast non-equilibrium dynamics.

Laser control of chiral molecules

Laser control of chiral molecules

Optical centrifuge orients chiral molecules, with the direction of orientation depending on the relative handedness of the molecular enantiomer and the rotating centrifuge field.

Ultrafast Gas Magnetization

Ultrafast Gas Magnetization

Optical centrifuge aligns the electronic spins of paramagnetic super-rotors, producing macroscopic magnetic fields in the gas on a picosecond time scale.

Anderson Localization of Molecular Rotation

Anderson Localization of Molecular Rotation

Molecules exposed to intense laser pulses exhibit chaotic dynamics, dominated by the effect of quantum localization.

Gyroscopic Dynamics and Sound Generation

Gyroscopic Dynamics and Sound Generation

Molecular super-rotors dissipate their enormous rotational energy into sound waves, detectable by unaided ear

Centrifuge Spectroscopy

Centrifuge Spectroscopy

Ionization spectra of O2 super-rotors with J=120, ten times above its room-temperature value

Molecular Super Rotors

Molecular Super Rotors

Time-dependent rotational Raman spectra reveal rotational frequencies of laser-centrifuged molecules exceeding 10 THz!

Optical Centrifuge

Optical Centrifuge

Optical centrifuge is a laser pulse whose linear polarization undergoes accelerated rotation, sweeping a corkscrew-shape surface. Molecules line up along the polarization vector and follow its rotation.